It addition to a homecoming, Memorial Day and some seriously beautiful weather also gave us reason to celebrate! To stretch out for a while, Danny (everyone's second favorite sous chef - sorry Danny. Matt's mighty cute in his chef coat) and I wandered to the West Side to check out the Boat Basin Cafe. 

End of the year inventory made Matt late in joining us, but much fun was had when he finally arrived.

Even in the city, being near the water is transforming.

I need a boat.

Located underneath the traffic circle, the place was jammed packed, even for a holiday weekend that typically calls all New Yorkers out of the city, and though the acoustics never let you pretend you were alone, the drinks were strong and the atmosphere more than made up for the slow service. This is the kind of place you can just park off for the day and daydream about making friends with sail boats. 

This photo was found on The Rock Paper Scissors Blog

This photo was found on  photosbydante's photostream. * * * * PROSPECT BOATHOUSE                       95 Prospect Park W., nr. 5th St., Lefferts Garden; 646-393-9031, ext. 2; prospectpark.org Tranquil views of the Lullwater Creek complement elegant Beaux-Arts style of this landmark building, which can fit up to 120 guests for dinner and dancing and 200 for cocktails, with optional outdoor tenting for up to 225. The Movable Feast handles both the catering (from $150 per person) and the rental of the Boathouse (from $4,000). This photo was found on Snippet and Dink. This venue is incredible and maybe exactly what I've been looking for. I really can't wait to see it in person. If it's anything like what I have pictured in my head, we might just have a winner!    This photo was found on Snippet and Dink.

This photo was found at LoveTheVenue

This photo was found at The Green Building

This photo was found at Heather Parker.

This photo was found at Alden Blair Events.

This photo was found at Brett Alison Blog

This photo was found at Kendall Pavan Photography

 We are a people who appreciate the fine art of nicknames. The one that has stuck the longest - BabaBaby! is pronounced   Bay*Buh*Baby   and is accompanied most often with a dramatic swing in your voice.   

City Smores! Roasting over an open electric flame...

...while laughing your butt off.

Doggie love.

And New York love.

Dining at a restaurant that sets the table before you even order.

A 1950's dress and a 1930's beaded purse.

Visiting Daisy's beautiful abode.

And taking her out for Car Bombs.

And of course for brunch too. Love these girls!

With my sweet love back home again, we push forward with wedding plans and life decisions. These next couple of months might get pretty hairy, but we trust that no matter which direction we take we will be happy taking them because we will be twisting and turning together. <---- Cryptic, no? Sorry! I'll let you know what there is to know when I know it. You can count on that. :)

We all have them. Weird little, nut-so things we do when living alone... or at the very least spending three companion-less weeks in our apartments, as I have just done. With Matt returning today from three looooonnnng weeks in Texas opening a new restaurant, I'd like to reflect a little on  Solo Jill.

Mostly, I imagine, our bizarre single behaviors surface without us consciously taking notice, right? They're simply personality quirks that peak their heads out of hiding only when we're certain no one's looking.

Think! What do you do when no one else is around?

Me? Oh, I do lots of weird things. Scrunch my lips and chin up in thought, realize I'm doing it and then wiggle my nose to release my face. Sing this odd ditty I made up decades ago about "mummies and daddies." Walk around my apartment pretending to be Jeff Goldblum <---- okay, please believe I'm kidding about that one. 

I have a home-alone outfit that all hinges on knee high socks that I pull up so tightly the heel ends up stretched unforgivably above my ankle. Like rings on tree stumps, you can gauge the age of my socks by counting the hair dye stains on the bottom of my feet, as inevitably I squish beneath me the fallen droplets of my most recent dye job.  

This extended time alone has revealed some great Absolute Truths. One. When living alone, I can't make myself go to bed and then of course sleeping waaaay too late. I'm saying that by the time 4am rolls around every night, I'm practically negotiating with myself - "If you fall asleep right now, Self, I'll take you to get a massage in the morning. You'd like that, wouldn't you?"

Two. I lose a lot of weight. This was a noticeable change when I first split from my Former Hub all those years ago, and I thought then that it was because I was getting myself dating pool ready again. But I see now that it is so much more than that. When I'm cooking for one, I cook well, really well, and always (always) chose healthy ingredients. I just like them and it somehow feels like a treat to eat this healthy food, like they are not options when my honey is around. And once that trend starts, I run with it... and Pudge... literally. And I don't drink alcohol. It's just not a go-to thing for me when on my own. Junk food and booze, I realize, is such a major part of my relationship, which is odd considering Matt and I consider ourselves to be somewhat foodies.



Three. I am totally regimented. I get into a schedule and that's it. I do the same thing, the same way, everyday. Three weeks in now and I have to admit, my self imposed routine is getting pretty boring, but there is no way I would every change things up for myself. I see that Matt is great for me in this respect. He drags me out of my head and this constant obsession with getting things done and makes sure that I have some genuinely spontaneous fun. Oh yes, my Matt is a dirty little fun have-er and it's one of the greatest things about him. He also shrugs off structure like a damp sour blanket and so maybe I'm just as good for him.  

I also never speak, but I do talk... a lot! I type on my phone. I type on my computer. I motion silently to the dogs. Some days, the whole morning and afternoon will slip by without my having said a single word. I'll get to work for 5pm and find that my throat is dry and my voice is crackled. And this has set me thinking: Can you be equally introverted and extroverted? Can you avoid personal contact AND demand attention at the same time? Because that is definitely me. I don't want to be even acknowledged by another person until I'm ready and still, it is so important to me to be the focal point in the room. <---- that's a big piece of vanity I just dropped on you. Don't judge! 

Have you ever looked at the differences between the classic personality types? This post has inspired me to and, dude, I've had them totally wrong.

	Type A	Type B                Type C
Relationships	Hostile	Friendly	Cautious
Competitiveness	Aggressive	Only with self	Have to be right
Workplace Persona	Tense	Relaxed concentration	Methodical
Attitude toward change	Negative	Inevitable	Discomfort
Team Leader/Member	Intimidating	Accepting	Unsocial
Emotional Expression	Guard is up	Positive	Hidden
Handling criticism	Critical of it	Open to it	Sensitive to it
Typical jobs	"The Boss"	Sales, Marketing	Planning
Attitude toward others	Suspicious	Friendly	Wary
Flexibility	Rigid	Flexible	Inflexible
Impulse control	Impulsive	Spontaneous	Thoughtful
Time management	Everything's urgent	Appropriate to task	As much as needed

 Well, my sweetheart will be home in a couple of hours and it's time to put my plan into motion. I'm going to get all dressed up and do a sexy airport pick up. I'm talking hot pink dress, heels, a sign with his name on it as if I were his hired driver and as an added bonus, a bottle of his favorite whiskey. Men are all about the visual, right? Someone's going to eat their heart out, if its the last thing I do!

AAAAAHHHHH - My two weeks are up by the close of the day and I, in typical fashion, have not gotten nearly as much accomplished as I vowed I would!

The pups don't care that I'm having a bad day. They'd steal my breakfast in a second and eat it while I cry.

My computer is now sitting in a bag of dry rice (yup, that's the way you apparently get liquid out of electronics) and now I'm suffering through a blog session on my honey's Mac. This computer is so annoyingly foreign to me. The keys are spaced oddly and the interface takes effort that I really don't have the patience for right now.

I want to go back to Friday, where my day was rosy and everything was peachy keen. Journey back with me.


It was a beautiful day, this Friday. Gentle rays from the sun broke through the budding tree branches in my back yard and tickled my eyes awake. I giggled as I stretched and yawn. A dog army crawled toward me and licked my face, while yet another laid full body across my legs. We all leap from bed.

The coffee? Plentiful, hot and delicious that day. Nothing spilled anywhere beside down my throat.

Spontaneously, I got a massage and it was the best one I've had in months and oh so cheap.

My plans for the day kept breaking and yet a new set of plans would simultaneously form, leaving me more and more excited to begin the day. Light on my feet, I got ready in a jiffy and found myself with an extra hour of leisure - a pleasure I thought I'd pass on to the pups, who have been so good these days and haven't complained at all about being cooped up while I work all these hours. And this is where my day really gets good.

I'll highlight the key points that brought me to the day's climax...

* Pudge pooped. Of course, he did. He's Pudge. But this time he pooped in front of a lingerie shop, where the three elderly woman who have had this shop in their family for the last 40 years were standing outside. They recognized Pudge and ran up to love on him. This is a rare thing - Pudge looks and behaves like an untamed beast. Only the brave of heart and the pure in spirit take an instant shine to him.
* I buy a slip. I've been meaning to. And with the day so nice, I thought it would be grand to wear the blousy vintage dress that I got at Shareen Vintage. 
* Feeling especially lovely, I meet my lady friends in Midtown to try and get Newsie tickets on lotto. NO dice. But they complimented my sweet vintage dress and this leads us to taking a $60 rickshaw ride downtown to see Shareen.

A red dress is hung in the window to indict that they are open for business.

Teaser!

Love my birthday girl! Thank you for inspiring an amazing day!

As previously announced, I have undertaken a mini quest, the purpose of which is quite simple - to be me.

I have to believe for my own sanity that there are many out there that agree with me when I say that sometimes being just "me" is hard. This is because so often, in my case, I am "Matt and Jill," "the bartender," "the cousin," "the friend," "the daughter," etc. And though I LOVE being all those things, and they are 100% a part of who I am, I recognize that my nature leads me to chose being these things -and attending to the obligations that go with- much more often than I chose being just "me" and doing the things that maybe just I love. It's sort of a mom syndrome type thing, though of course the only babies I have are my baby dogs.

Part of reason I entertain this little blog is to remind myself of the things I love to do and to give me an added incentive to actually do them when life pulls me inevitably toward much more boring pursuits.

And so. I took a writing class this past weekend!

And while on break, I ate at the bar of a little cafe near Union Square by myself, pulled out my journal and wrote - just like I had seen people do countless times at the bars I tend <---- I've always wanted to be one of those people.Here's what I jotted down for you:

Hmmmm... what shall I write about today? How shall I spend my week? My day?? My afternoon??!

I've got a lot of free time on my hands suddenly (Matt's off opening a new restaurant and Kalee's wedding went off without a hitch!), and I'm faced now with the same question that haunted me almost 3 years ago when I found myself divorced - how do I possibly entertain myself?!

I always know what I want to do, but on average I rarely choose my wants over others. That's part of my awesomeness as well as one of my biggest issues. And so now, faced with a To-Do-List with nothing really on it, I'm a bit frozen.

This is all too familiar territory and aptly enough, it is the exact reason why I started this blog. I need to choose 'me' more often! And for the next two weeks, I literally have no excuse not to.

So here we go - My Two Week Plan!

1. Attempt a cleanse.
   - Let's get this body back in order. No alcohol. No junk food. No belly aches! Just your basic Master Cleanse with a couple added pleasures... apples, celery and cucumber. I'm a contingency plan kinda girl. If I weaken and try to give up, I'll allow myself to eat on of the three approved (and already stocked in my frig!) items.

2. See a show.
    - I live in NYC! How do I not get to see more theatre? Oh yeah. It's expensive. Well, I've found a show I want to see and I'm going to try and get a cheap ticket on lottery. That's where you show up a couple of hours before the show to try and be one of the people who gets to buy their ticket for 30 bucks. I've got time on my hands, right? Why not put it to good use!

3. Take that cake decorating course.
    - Or at least the 1st of the 4 courses. I've already got the materials and Matt already has experience, so this is a great one for me to do on my own. Yup. Definitely.

4. Take that One Day Intensive Writing Class.
    - There are so many options that I've been sitting on this class voucher for months, uncertain which class would be most worth my while. Well, I've chosen Character Development and I'm jazzed to begin!

5. Finish my next video montage.
    - For those not in the know, I've transferred all our old VHS tapes to DVD and now I'm editing them down into these mini movies. We've already seen the Kenny Video. Kalee is next. I hope to give everyone one of their very own for Christmas, plus organized copies of all the Birthdays... Holidays... etc.

And of course, I want to lock down my spending these next couple of weeks and work as much as I can to bulk of the bank account I've been draining.  This doesn't seem like two much to ask of my days. Let's hope I don't let myself get in my own way!

More professional photos to come!

If you recall, my Sito (grandmother) loves her some Bounty Paper Towels.

I put together this great letter, complete with a dozen photos, detailing exactly how deep this love for Bounty runs and sent it to Procter & Gamble on her behalf. She would have died of embarrassment if she knew I did that, but hey, I figure what she doesn't know won't kill her and the resulting happiness was SO worth it.

I asked P&G to drop Little Mary a letter in thanks and instead they sent me directly a boring, generic reply. I say Boo and Blah to that! Out came Photoshop and within minutes, we had a much more awesome letter "from them" simply thanking her, from their family to hers, for her lifetime of loyalty.


And to sweeten the pot, I got the biggest/baddest package of Bounty I could find and I mailed it to her with the letter - again Photoshopping a fairly authentic looking shipping label for the box. I used the box from my most recent Soap.com delivery for added authenticity. She's in her 80's - details count, but don't exactly have to make sense. :)



I sent it via USPS for $12 and it arrived to her by the end of the week.


I showed up two days later myself and still no one had mentioned her having received it. I was bummed! Had it not arrived? Had it gotten lost?

I did some reconnaissance. I asked my Uncle if she had received any unusual packages recently - he immediately perked up: Did you send that?? he asked.

Oh, no. I answered, that was straight from Bounty. Why risk killing the surprise? I tipped them off to her though. What did she say when she got it?

He shared this picture:


Sito! I shout enthusiastically as I walk into her bedroom, You got a package from Bounty??

Oh, yes! she says. It's the really good one. The big one. It's on the table - Look!

 I stroll over to admire and she follows me... smiling ear to ear.

What did the letter say? I ask. She grabs it. She had it on her nightstand next to her bed. She lets me read it from top to bottom out loud without interrupting.

I think someone's pranking me. She says this in the way that gives the impression she doesn't want to be caught looking like a fool if it does turn out to be a prank, but clearly she's on board.

No way, I say. Look at this letter, Sito. It has the company logo. I point. It has a reverence number! This is legit, I say.

She takes the letter back and folds it. I don't know how they found me... she trails off and I know she believes and that at least for a moment she feels special and is happy.